9/29/22, 1:39 PM Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting | Cook's Illustrated

Yellow Sheet Cake with

Chocolate Frosting
SERVES Serves 12 to 15

TIME 1 hour, plus 2½ hours cooling

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For a tender cake with a fine, plush texture, we started by using

bleached cake flour. Its altered starch is more absorbent than the
starch in unbleached flour, so it can accommodate more liquid,
sugar, and fat (we use butter for flavor and vegetable oil for
moistness) without collapsing under the extra weight. We
combined the ingredients using the reverse-creaming method:
First we mixed the dry ingredients—flour, sugar, leavener, and
salt—with the fat, and then we beat in the eggs and liquid
ingredients. Only a small amount of air was incorporated during
mixing, resulting in a superfine texture. For a frosting that
would hold its shape even in warm weather, we whipped up a
modified American buttercream. Adding hot water reduced the
grittiness of the confectioners’ sugar, and a combination of
cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate yielded a frosting with
a rich, multidimensional chocolate flavor.

INGREDIENTS BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Cake
* Use a metal baking pan for this recipe; a glass baking
dish will cause the edges of the cake to overbake as it
4 large eggs plus 2 large
cools. It's important to use bleached cake flour here;
yolks
substituting unbleached cake flour or a combination of all-
½ cup buttermilk purpose flour and cornstarch will cause the cake to fall. To

1 tablespoon vanilla extract ensure the proper texture, weigh the flour. Our favorite

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9/29/22, 1:39 PM Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting | Cook's Illustrated

2 ¼ cups (9 ounces)
bleached cake flour bittersweet chocolate is Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet
Chocolate Premium Baking Bar.
1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces)
granulated sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
1 ¼ teaspoons
baking powder
1  FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle
position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13
¼ teaspoon baking soda by 9-inch baking pan. Combine eggs and yolks, buttermilk,
½ teaspoon table salt and vanilla in 2-cup liquid measuring cup and whisk with
fork until smooth.
8 tablespoons
unsalted butter, softened
2  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda,
½ cup vegetable oil and salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle. Mix on
low speed until combined, about 20 seconds. Add butter
Frosting and oil and mix on low speed until combined, about 30
2 ¼ cups (9 ounces) seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat until
confectioners' sugar lightened, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and, with
mixer running, slowly add egg mixture. When mixture is
½ cup (1½ ounces)
fully incorporated, stop mixer and scrape down bowl and
unsweetened cocoa powder paddle thoroughly. Beat on medium-high speed until batter
8 tablespoons is pale, smooth, and thick, about 3 minutes. Transfer batter
unsalted butter, softened to prepared pan and smooth top. Tap pan firmly on counter
5 times to release any large air bubbles.
¼ cup hot water

¼ teaspoon table salt 3  Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out
2 ounces with few crumbs attached, 28 to 32 minutes. Let cake cool
bittersweet chocolate, completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.
melted

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9/29/22, 1:39 PM Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting | Cook's Illustrated

4  FOR THE FROSTING: Combine sugar, cocoa,

butter, hot water, and salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with
whisk attachment. Mix on low speed until combined, about
20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and continue to mix
until smooth, about 1 minute longer, scraping down bowl
as necessary. Add melted chocolate and whip on low speed
until incorporated. Let sit at room temperature until
thickened to spreadable consistency, 30 to 40 minutes.

5  Frost cake. Refrigerate until frosting is set, about 20

minutes, before serving.

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